Alexis of Troy (Book I)

δ′ - Tesserah

FOUR

Dryope turned out to be a gracious host, even if she was a tad dramatic. When I dipped my feet in the pond, the icy shock made me gasp in pain. Dryope's response was to burst out in tears.

She stuffed me full of berries, pears and dates, and perched next to me to ensure I ate every single bite. The drink she shoved in my hands wasn't wine, but a sweet, honeyed drink that soothed my nerves. Her owl-like eyes were unblinking, curious as if she'd never seen a human before. I tried hard not to stare at her figure, which was so perfect and her skin looked so soft. I imagined that if I touched her it'd be like touching silk. The thought made my cheeks flush, and I had to splash cold water on my face to cool down.

She had no reservations about prancing around almost naked in the forest and seemed unaware of the way I tried to avoid looking her way. Which was hard to do, when she was always nearby.

By the time night had fully settled, Dryope led me to a cozy patch of grass nestled under a low-hanging tree.

"You can sleep here," she claimed proudly. "It has a very lovely view of Artemis' night sky."

She was right about that. The sky had exploded with stars. Fistfuls of glittering confetti that Artemis had tossed into the sky. It was startling and beautiful. I was used to seeing a night sky tainted with city lights. I'd be lucky to see one bright star in the muddied sky.

"The wise goddess will return in the morning," Dryope continued as I settled in. "Do not worry, pretty little thing, I will keep a vigilant watch over you."

"Right... thanks. I guess."

The moss at the base of the tree acted as a pillow, and was wonderfully comfortable. Even the earthy, dirt smell was comforting, and as my head hit the mossy pillow, the world turned dark, and I was falling.

Falling into a black void, my screams snatched away by the rushing air. My limbs flailed helplessly as I tumbled down and down and down, unable to catch myself.

Through the rushing wind came a shrill beeping. It pierced my eardrums, and I gritted my teeth against the sound. There was no escaping it, the sound wrapping its claws around my head.

And then came the voices.

They were distorted, though it sounded like someone was calling my name between fits of crying.

I reached for the invisible voice, my own words snatched from my lips. I thought I knew who was calling my name, but I couldn't remember.

And then I landed on something soft and warm. A gigantic hand, judging by the wall of pink-fleshed fingers. They curled towards me, threatening to crush me like a bug.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING HOME!"

The voice was rolling thunder. It rattled my bones, made my teeth chatter as I clamped my hands over my ears. I tried to move, but the ridges in the hand were too difficult to navigate.

The fingers were closing in, and I kept slipping—

"No!"

I wrenched myself awake with a strangled scream. My heart raced against my chest, desperate to escape its confined cage. What a horrific nightmare, though now that I was awake, it was fading away. I remembered waking up on a beach in Troy, and meeting the goddess Athena, and Paris, the shepherd prince. Then Athena took me to the home of a dryad called Dryope...

The rest of it was a blur.

Blindly, I reached for my phone to check the time—only to find it wasn't on the bedside table. Nor was my bedside table there. In fact, it was tree root, jutting out from the ground. I was nestled in the crook of the tree, the mossy pillow now indented with the side of my face. The sky was ombre of blue and pink, cloudless with the promise of another hot day.